Capt. M. S. Kohli
Capt. M. S. Kohli, born 11th December 1931, is an internationally renowned Indian mountaineer. An officer in the Indian Navy who joined the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, he led the 1965 Indian expedition which put nine men on the summit of Everest, a world record which lasted for 17 years. He started with Saser Kangri in 1956, and has been on 20 major Himalayan expeditions which included India’s first ascent of Nanda Kot and first ascent of Annapurna III, 7555 m. His 14-year tenure in the Indian Mountaineering Foundation as Vice-President/President saw many landmark developments. He was President from 1989 to 1993. To save the Himalayas from the brink of disaster, he secured the support of Sir Edmund Hillary and other Himalayan legends – Maurice Herzog, Sir Chris Bonington, Reinhold Messner and Junko Tabei – to establish the Himalayan Environment Trust on 14th October 1989. During the past two decades the HET has worked to save the environment for future generations. Since his retirement in 1990, he has been passionately working on the all-round development of youth through various adventure and outdoor leadership projects.